Preventing and Combating all Forms of Human Trafficking: Improving Transnational
Coordination and Cooperation; Developing and Strengthening Networks and Partnerships
with Third Countries - implementation of the Master Plan
Regional Initiative (Austria and its neighbors: Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Croatia
and Liechtenstein) - supported by the Austrian Federal Ministers for Women and Public Administration and for Labour, Social
Affairs and Consumer Protection - with the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (oiip) as the lead organization, in cooperation
with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Reader's Digest
of the
Regional Round Table
PREVENTING Contemporary Slavery in PRACTICE
Developing/Enhancing/Coordinating Mutually Beneficial Joint
PARTNERSHIPS
with Third Countries.
The Italo-Nigerian Cooperation to build-on as Good Practice for Europe
Hosted by MP Livia Turco
Rome, House of Parliament, Sala del Mappamondo
Piazza Montecitorio, 1
7 Februrary 2012
° About the Regional Implementation Initiative: Helga Konrad, Executive Director AntiTrafficking, Austrian Institute for International Affairs (oiip)- engl.
° About Trafficking of Nigerian Girls in Italy: Data, Stories, Social Services, Synthesis of a
Survey committed by UNICRI to Associazione PARSEC – engl./ ital.
° The Nigerian Case – Il Caso della Nigeria: Francesco Carchedi, Director of Research, PARSEC
Consortium- engl./ ital.
° The Role of Nigeria in Preventing Human Trafficking: Martin Ocaga, Head of IOM Mission
Nigeria, International Organization for Migration – ppp engl.
° The Role of Academia – Research and Cooperation with the University of Benin City and
Lagos: Enzo Nocifora, Vice-Direttore Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali, Università di
Roma/Sapienza – engl.
° The Role of Civil Society and Local Group Leaders in Preventing and Combating Human
Trafficking:
 Marina Torreggiani, Servizio 'Roxanne', Municipality of Rome - engl./ital.
 Adolfo Pagnanelli, Emergency Head Director, Policlinico Casilino - ppp engl./ ital.
 Federica Gaspari, Anti-Trafficking Expert, Cooperativa PARSEC - ppp engl./ ital.

Dorothy Ukegbu Ashmole, Nigerian Cultural Mediator – engl.
° Comments, Reflections and Questions from the floor
 Tampep Association- engl.
 Dorota Gierycz, Webster University Vienna – engl.
° Respones from Politics: Looking Back – Looking Forward:
 Rosa Villecco Calipari, Vice Presidente Gruppo Parlamentare PD, Co-Host – ital.
 Michele Palma, Direttore Generale, Department of Equal Opportunities, Presidency of the
Council of Ministers – engl.
 Bianca Pomeranzi, Senior Gender Advisor of Italian Development Cooperation
 Maria Grazia Giammarinaro,OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Trafficking
in Human Beings
° Development of Joint Mutually Beneficial Partnerships with Third Countries :
Ways Forward - Next Steps
° List of Participants
° About the Regional Implementation Initiative: Helga Konrad, Executive Director AntiTrafficking, Austrian Institute for International Affairs (oiip)
Preventing and Combating all Forms of Human Trafficking: Improving Transnational
Coordination and Cooperation; Developing and Strengthening Networks and Partnerships
with Third Countries - with the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (oiip) as the lead
organization, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and
encompasses Italy, Austria Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic,
Croatia, Liechtenstein.
This Round Table is one in a series of events since 2010 in the framework of the Regional
Implementation Initiative, which encompasses 10 European countries (but is open to others), a
project that wishes to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and eventually the sustainability of antitrafficking measures and responses through common/joint implementation of (internationally and
Eu wide) agreed norms and instruments in this field.
The main topic of this Round Table here in Rome is Nigeria – or more precisely, partnerships
with so- called 3rd countries.
For several years now human trafficking has received concerted international attention.
But, despite of hundreds of anti-trafficking recommendations, checklists and indicators, training
material, countless conferences, symposia, meetings, there is no tangible evidence that we have
come to grips with this complex, multifaceted, multidimensional global problem.
Therefore, we do not wish to add one more conference to the many that have been organized all
over the world. We want -on the one hand - to test the assumptions on which we have been
conducting our fight against THB so far, and on the other hand, we want to find ways how to do
better and how to develop more sustainable solutions in making meaningful headway against the
traffickers and provide the lifeline needed for the victims of trafficking.
There is a huge gap between theory and practice.
The purpose of this Regional Initiative (which we call 'Regional' because it covers several countries
within Europe) is to enhance and better coordinate the practical implementation of established (EU
and international) norms, instruments and existing good practices - thus supporting and
complementing the implementation efforts of the larger European anti-trafficking framework as led
down in the Lisbon Treaty, the Stockholm Programme and the Action oriented Paper.
And it aims at reinforcing the political commitments and legal obligations of the participating
countries both to prevent and combat all forms of trafficking in human beings by taking a humanrights-based, victim-centred and age-sensitive approach and the gender perspective into account.
We certainly do not wish to re-invent the wheel nor to simply ruminate old stories. On the contrary:
we wish to move forward, towards more and better results.
The focus of this Round Table is not only on the consequences of THB. We wish to reflect on what
needs to be done, in order to prevent people from falling prey to traffickers. Therefore, the focus is
on prevention. Real prevention – not just awareness raising - and on strengthening networks and
developing mutually beneficial partnerships with so-called third countries/countries of origin.
The envisaged activities shall promote the development of long term preventive measures by
addressing the social, economic, cultural and other factors, which make people vulnerable to
trafficking – beyond the usual clichés and stereotypes.
A number of participating countries of the Regional Initiative have identified NIGERIA as one of
the main countries of origin of human trafficking to Europe - and they have assessed the 'Italian
project' (which has been developed and implemented as a joint endeavor of experts from the NGO
PARSEC in close cooperation with IOM and with the support of the Italian Government, with
Norway and the Netherlands as partners and last but not least the University of Rome/Sapienza) as
'GOOD PRACTICE' to build on - in order to benefit from its longstanding experience and
consolidated expertise - when developing and eventually implementing comprehensive joint
prevention measures, which will go beyond awareness raising, addressing the underlying causes of
human trafficking - as an example for Europe as a whole.
We will get in-depth information about the Italian-Nigerian Cooperation and discuss the
components which we consider most important for a comprehensive and thus more effective
approach to preventing human trafficking such as

how to involve the local group leaders, civil society, the institutional agencies (NAPTIP)
and academia on both sides (The Benin City and Lagos University – University of Rome) in
order to define the common objectives along each step;

how to foster reintegration of victims returning from Europe into the Nigerian socioeconomic context;

how to involve and train local NGOs in order for them to play a major role in the victims’
reintegration process;

how to address the local needs and improve the social, economic and educational levels of
the local community, thus preventing the youth population to fall pray of the organized
crime circuits, etc.

the role of research and the funding of small projects on the spot, based on the outcome of
research on endemic areas of trafficking,
The basic idea is to design a broader and thus more effective prevention programme as a good
practice for Europe and to avoid duplication and needless repetition of 'more of the same'.
Current THB prevention and protection policies and programmes are only partly successful since
they tend to not fully reflect the complex reality.
The scarcity of knowledge about human trafficking, its nature and its true extent, but also about the
various factors contributing to and/or determining human trafficking is a serious impediment to the
design and implementation of effective policies and programmes to prevent and combat human
trafficking, as well as to the evaluation of their longer term impact.
In order to fill this knowledge gap, the Regional Initiative will embark on research by involving
Universities and research institutes of the participating States and by promoting and establishing a
network of researchers in order to foster the continuous exchange and information flow on research,
to create synergies and possibly further joint ventures and to trigger additional joint research
endeavors. The resulting enhancement of the insight into the intricacies of human trafficking will
provide politicians and experts/practitioners with a sound basis for both policy making and
designing more targeted and effective anti-trafficking interventions.
By way of conclusion, let me underline that the lead question for future, more effective antitrafficking efforts will be: What works under which circumstances?
° The Nigerian Case – Il Caso della Nigeria: Francesco Carchedi, Director of Research, PARSEC
Consortium
What do we mean by “Comprehensive Approach”. Some lessons learnt.
A hypothesis of intervention against the human being trade. The Nigeria case”
Abstract
(Parsec-Ricerca and Interventi sociali)
Nigerian group composition.
During the last five years the THB from Nigeria finalized to severe sexual exploitation has become
to be polarized into two main macro-groups: on one side the most relevant one (around 75-80%)
comes from Benin City, capital of Edo State, on the other side, in much smaller measure (around
20-25%), the one coming from the cities of Warry, in the Delta State, Uyo, capital of the Akwo Ibon
State, of Akure, capital of the Onto State, and other cities such as Port Hancourt, in the River State.
The directions of these micro-streams of non-volunteer migrant women destined to compulsive
prostitution are mostly the European countries, the Southern ones as much as the Continental ones
(both Western and Eastern states) as the Northern ones too. The numerical amount of this
phenomena is not known. In Italy we consider the presence to be of around 7,000 to 8,000 exploited
Nigerian women in the period that goes from year 2003 to year 2009. According to the realized
studies, these components of women subjected to prostitution do not seem to be affected by
particular qualitative or quantitative changes through the years.
Most common model of exploitation.
The actual “model” of exploitation, basically with a very few and marginal variations, appears to be
the same as the one analysed and understood already a few years ago: there is in fact
the
commitment to a debt taken in order to expatriate, sealed by magical-traditional swearing-in
ceremony (voodoo or juju) that oblige the migrant woman to its restitution; the dangerous travel
subject to continuous variations (and controlled by exponents of the criminal organization)
characterized by longer or shorter stops once at the southern frontiers of the Mediterranean sea;
then the crossing of the frontier: passing by the Sicily Channel, or the Straits of Gibraltar, or straight
to the airports of London, Paris or Frankfurt, or by boat passing by Crete and Cyprus to Athens, or
stopping in Istanbul, Bucharest or Sophia aiming to go to Belgrade and then to move to Berlin or
Wien to enter in Europe; the meeting with the “sponsor” of the travel (the one who financed the
operation) and the harsh request of the payment of the debt and the consequent modality of
enslavement or severe sexual exploitation (and since a few years of labour exploitation too). The
submission process of the predetermined victims – once entered in Europe – is quick since it is
based on violence, coercion and prevarication, as well as on blackmailing the person with reprisals
on the members of the family and the relatives who are still living in the hometowns.
Social interventions and need of an innovative approach.
The social interventions that many European countries have activated in order to give answers to
the victims of the trade (in general) and to the Nigerian women (in particular), are often different,
sometimes discontinuous and disjointed. In general the experience in Europe, nevertheless, has
reached meaningful levels of maturity, even if articulated in different ways in each country, but it
does not find – at this stage - an adequate sustain in the exodus areas and therefore in the victims’
origin areas, in our case in Nigeria. In other words the interventions of cooperation – centralized or
decentralized – that the national institutions or the E.U. have made in the last ten years, both for the
protection of the victims and to contrast the criminal networks, could not develop their complete
potential. As a matter of fact, in the home countries of the victims the institutions (public and
N.G.O.), with whom the collaborations have been activated, do not have the same experience and so
the relationships that are bilaterally activated result to be (and the risk is to increase this process)
asymmetrical (in damage of these countries) and therefore poorly effective. This happens also
because of the fact that European institutions are not able to look after, step by step, the
interventions that they activate at a transnational level.
Common mistakes.
The most common mistakes that are made – by the European institutions – are caused by the fact
that money donation (to support programs and social interventions in other countries, such as
Nigeria) are made on the basis of mere trust relationship that the European countries have with the
NGOs or with the other international organizations and then – once given the money (or in a direct
way or after a competitive exam) – the institutions themselves are not able to control and to
evaluate the development of such programs. Once financed, the European institutions seem to done
their work and finished their functions; therefore the delegacy given to the NGOs/other
organizations for implementing the program becomes often a kind of intentional certification of the
abandon of it by the financing institutions themselves.
This minimalistic view makes the NGOs and the other organizations become the long hand og the
giving institutions, but without being subject to any constant control/evaluation of the work done
that they have planned to realize on their own. On the other hand once received the funds, the
NGOs get in contact with a social reality slightly different, institutional interlocutors and Nigerian
NGOs that often did not know before e with whom they start bureaucratic relationships mostly
limited to the movement of portions of the received money. It is easy to understand that the
European NGOs are not able to control/evaluate the Nigerian NGOs’ interventions, because often –
once had an agreement – they come back to Europe sure that the social intervention will be
implemented. Obviously this does not mean that we are in presence of profiteer NGOs, but only
that we are in presence of system of intervention too much fragmented and not functionally
interdependent. In other words a fragile system, not efficient in Nigerian reality, especially if in
relation to the technical, organizational and economic efforts of the financing institutions.
Objectives and intervention areas.
These mistakes have been highlighted along the time by the Italian cooperation – Functioning in the
last ten years in Nigeria, in particular in Benin City (Edo State) – and so estimated again in an
analysis in occasion of the recently realized interventions. The project “Counter Trafficking
Initiative: analysis of the evolution of the trafficking in persons, grass root social intervention,
building social services and networking capacity and promoting direct Assistance”, financed by the
Itlian cooperation, has been designed by many actors. On one side, the project designers of an
organization that works in Nigeria (OIM-Nigeria, the organization who asked for the funds) and
Italian experts, on the other side the executives of the Anti-THB sector of the Nigeria Federal
Government. Basically the project has been designed with the aim to satisfy the needs of the
partner-actor involved: about the knowledge of the phenomena (endemic areas inside or in the
surroundings of Benin City, estimations about migration of women from this areas, lack of
infrastructures and conditions of the women, social profile of the victims on the basis of what was
known about the phenomena and studies/researches to verify the truthiness of the known profile);
about the social protection (and the working systems in the two countries, in particular: how the
social protection die works, which ones are the criticisms and how to overcome them, which kind of
interventions are put in being, which one is their efficiency, which network of territorial services is
working on this topic, which social actors are more involved and which others are possible to be
involved, and so on); and about prevention interventions (immediate and secondary) present in the
endemic areas (once individuated), that is to say in the areas where the phenomena of the THB,
especially the sexually finalized one, generates and grows.
Methodological approach.
The interventions maturated in Europe (and in Italy) – as we have already said – are different from
the ones realized by the Nigerian institutions (both public ones and NGOs). But the stated
differences, nevertheless, are not focused in the techniques used to protect the victims (welcoming,
sheltering and social re-insertion) but are focused in the way the involved social actors work. In fact
these do not tend to intervene in an interconnected way, in tune with each other aiming to make
system, working in network supporting each other in order to increase the volume of the
interventions offered to the territorial level – as we had the chance to notice directly on the field.
Networking approach or multi-level approach. Criticisms have been highlighted that do not let the
growth of the added value determined by the common and coordinated work among the actors
(institutional and non) who intervene in the same sector, as it in the case of the THB finalized to
sexual exploitation.
Development hypothesis (building on what has already been done).
Summarizing: the action developed or to still develop, with the aim to continue the intervention
(together with other European countries as partners) are the next ones:

Activation of a super-national partnership among many European countries interested in
coordinating their efforts to intervene with the highest efficacy in the matters that regard the
Nigeria case, especially in Benin City area. This means in the endemic areas already
individuated by the program of the Italian cooperation. In order to concentrate the efforts of
the intervention in the territorial contests where the phenomena is born and reproduces it self
the most.

At the meantime, activation of a partnership among actors that intervene in the sector of the
human being trade in Nigeria, knowing that the phenomena – looking at the data at our
disposition – was born, got developed and reproduces itself in prevalence in Benin City; so
the actors to involve will be the ones which work in this territory and not in others. Such as
the local Universities (for the research and the treatment of the data about the trade, as well
as to map the territory and to detect the endemic areas and to involve students to study the
phenomena); the NAPTIP ( the Nigerian Federal Agency against Human Trafficking): both
the social Department (that has got competences about the protection of the victims of the
trade) and the judicial Department (that has got competences in contrasting the criminal
organization); the IOM. Nigeria as coordinator and controller of the programs, as well as
“socio-cultural mediator” connecting the European experts to the Nigerian ones; them to the
NGO.s, the ones that run the foster centres as well as the ones that organize the professional
education, as the ones that give legal assistance, as the ones that operate on the working and
social rehabilitation; to the Councils of the Olds of the villages where the intervention is
activated, in particular of the ones that work in the endemic areas; So that the experts (of
human trade, social policies and networking services) of the giving countries will be able to
orient/exchange the European experiences and the ones that maturing at a local level.

Agreements with these actors (institutional and NGOs) to prepare a program that starts from
their effective needs, this means the ones that they detect and define on their own because
present in the territories of insurgence of the human beings trade phenomena. Needs that go
from the ones related to the technical-organizational structure and logistic positioning of the
social services (given by institutional subjects and NGOs); to the ones related to their
capacity of territorial and functional interconnection on the base of the competences of each
one; to the ones that could be developed to facilitate the activation of coordinated actions
and managed in systemic shape (one after the other), with the aim to take in charge the
victim and look after her for the whole social rehabilitation path; to the collective ones,
related to the “villages” that build the administrative structure up in Benin City, in relation to
the local infrastructures that influence directly the social life of the community.

Co-design of the projects (between European and local partners/experts) of intervention to
actuate, in order to make them as adherent as possible to the needs expressed by the
territories: this from the point of view of prevention (knowledge of the characteristics of the
phenomena, location and knowledge of the endemic areas, structural criticisms, such as
schools and public/common spaces), from an approach that regards the taking in charge of
the victims (how to intercept them, how to involve them, what to propose in order to protect
them, what to do during their permanence in the social services or in the foster houses or in
other places of protection), from a prospective of dismissing of the accorded protection (reentering in their own families, jobs, micro-financing the entrepreneurial activity, and so on);

Constitution – once financed the project – of a Leading Committee (made up of whole group
of local experts – institutional and NGO ones – and foreign experts, given by the doner
Countries) and of an Executive Committee for the implementation of the whole program,
with meetings to be held twice per month. These meetings are strategically important
because of the fact that in such a way you can build up on the field the
direction/management of the program. Meeting that are useful not only to monitor the
development of the actions (and the reached results), but also to solve collectively all the
problems of the path that step by step can emerge, and if not faced, could mislead the
development of the actions themselves (so called “participated evaluation”). Furthermore,
this meetings are useful to empower and to share the prefixed goals and, not secondarily, to
create a nearness among the operators of different nationality that are working together to
contrast the human being trade finalized to severe sexual exploitation.
° The Role of Academia – Research and Cooperation with the University of Benin City and
Lagos: Enzo Nocifora, Vice-Direttore Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali, Università di
Roma/Sapienza
Inter-university cooperation is the instrument that the University of Rome “Sapienza” and the Benin
City and Lagos Universities have decided to adopt in order to promote the fight against the THB of
women in Nigeria.
Because of this reason a partnership has been activated among:

OIM Nigeria

MAE GD of Cooperation and Development

Benin City University

Lagos University

University of Rome “Sapienza”
The cognitive need at the base of our intervention came exactly from Nigerian institutional sources,
which were soliciting a social research plan able to enable to understand in advance what was
usually understood only afterwards by the authorities. Where the investigation are not able to arrive,
careful researchers can get, not looking for judiciary proves but for pieces of scientific information.
In Nigeria the presence of three different institutional levels makes the analysis particularly
complex: concerning to the THB phenomenon the federal government has a very clear and explicit
position, on the other hand the national one and particularly the ethnic one have an attitude much
less drastic and shaped on a certain level of tolerance. At this stage the need of an analytic mapping
of the areas of origin of the trafficked women has emerged, letting to understand that the
phenomenon is not about the whole Nigeria, but rather from the Benin ethnic group and, probably,
from a specific territorial area where this group has actually settled.
On May the 26th 2009, in the framework of the IOM Nigeria mission to Italu, we have invited
professor Orobator, Dean of the Social Sciences Faculty of the Benin City University, and we have
asked to him the one that have become the topic question in the research held in the following
months by our university colleagues: Why Benin?
The working hypothesis proposed by professor Orobator were strictly connected to the commercial
enterprise ability of the Benin people, once economically and politically powerful, facing a phase of
economic decadence nowadays which they are trying to contrast by their familiarity with the
commercial traffic dynamics and their ability of financing the market fluxes of goods.
Starting from this analysis a research circuit has been activated together with a training process
financed by 10 scholarships to the students in Lagos and Benin City, paid by the OIM Nigeria. An
Observatory on the THB phenomenon has been created and it has realized a “winter school” in
February 2011, joined by young Italian researchers and their colleagues from Benin City and Lagos.
The chosen approach has been focused on:

The need of knowing the phenomena in order to prevent and intervene;

The need of producing formation in order to create professionalism and to face the social
problems;

The need to cooperate to better be understood and seen from an external point of view and
to better intervene with higher levels of efficacy in the results form an internal one.
° The Role of Civil Society and Local Group Leaders in Preventing and Combating Human
Trafficking: Marina Torreggiani, Servizio 'Roxanne', Municipality of Rome
° The Role of Civil Society and Local Group Leaders in Preventing and Combating Human
Trafficking: Dorothy Ukegbu Ashmole, Nigerian Cultural Mediator
Buon giorno a tutti, sono ukegbu Dorothy mediatrice Culturale Nigeriana, vivo a Roma da tanti
anni. Collaboro sia con INMP di Ospedale San Gallicano da 7 anni e lo sportello Roxanne da 5
anni. Il tema di oggi parla su ruolo nella mediazione culturale nel prevenire la schiavitu’
contemporaneo nella pratica. Se noi facessimo una domanda chi e’ questa figura che occupa un
ruolo di mediatore?. Ci sono stati innumerevoli ruoli assegnati a questa figura, in cui devo citare
alcunni esempi.
1.Deve essere un’ operatore in grado di facilitare e rimuovere l’ostacolo che impedisce la
comunicazione tra due entita’ diverse tenendo conto della loro cultura di provenienza, anche tra i
servizi istituzionali Italiani e utenza straniera.
2. Di individuare opportunita’ e percorsi positivi di prevenzione e superamenti di conflitti.
3. Deve avere la competenza sociale cioe, saper fare e possedere delle qualita’ personali cioe saper
essere.
4. Di essere equidistante e neutra.
5. Non solamente trovare le vie d’uscite ai problemi ma anche proporre soluzioni in cui entrambe le
parti vincono. E se e’ possibile monitorare e valutare l’intero processo
SCHIAVITU’
La Schiavitù è la condizione di chi è soggetto a un padrone, che può disporre della vita e dei beni di
lui e ha avuto l’origini molto antiche. Ma quando parliamo della schiavitu’ contemporanea, del
nostro tempo in qui viviamo, portiamo in discussione le varie forme di TRATTA. Che e’ niente altro
che OLTRAGGIO ALLA DIGNITÀ UMANA: Ci sono varie forme di tratta, ma concentriamoci
sulla tratta nel contesto a scopo di sfruttamento sessuale.
Parliamo della connessione al levello internazionale tra I’italia e la mia Nigeria sopra nominato da
noi Nigeriani come (Italian Connection) cioe la connessione tra I’italia e La NIGERIA per quanto
riguarda l’attivita’ di sfruttamento sessuale al livello internazionale.
NIGERIA. La Repubblica Federale della Nigeria, è uno stato dell' Africa occidentale, il più
popoloso del continente (con i suoi 160 milioni di abitanti). composta da 36 stati compreso l’Edo
State con la sua capitale benin – city.
1. Il punto di partenza della tratta dalla Nigeria è situato nella piccola capitale di Edo state
denominata BENIN. Da qui, partono 85% delle giovani donne e minorenni verso Italia.
L’età media delle donne nigeriane vittime di tratta è compresa tra i 17 e I 30 anni, e aumenta la
presenza dei minorenni. Ci sono stati i casi in qui abbiamo segnalato la presenza delle minorenni
all’autorita’ competente mentre facevamo l’unita’ di strada.
Negli ultimi anni ci sono stati forti incrementi del traffico di giovani donne e minorenni nigeriane a
scopo di sfruttamento sessuale.
Nei anni passati le giovanni ragazze dicevano sempre di non aver avuto nessuna pallida idea di cio
che venivano a fare in Italia, questo era verissimo perche’ sono stati ingannati dai sponsors e
sfruttatori. ma da due o tre anni fa sono state dette la natura dell’attivita’ che loro avrebbero svolte
al loro arrivo in Italia.
Non avendo l’accurata conoscenza che la prostituzione e’ organizzata al livello internazionale, non
e’ solo affari tra lei la vittima e la sua madam. Al volte quando dicono che non sanno cosa venivano
a fare non e’ vero, cosa non sano e’ la gestione del business.
Alle ragazze i sfruttatori avevano promesso un lavoro di commessa, babysitter, lavorare in una
parrucchiera. La loro aspettativa era di poter trovare un lavoro decente. Ma al contrario finiscono
sulla marciapiede appena arrivano in Italia.
Le ragazze una volta, arrivarono via area con dei passaporti falsi a volte originali, ma come i
controlli ai aeroporti sono stati intensificati, hanno scelto una via piu’ facile ma molto. pericoloso.
Trascorono mesi a volte anni la durata’ del loro processo migratorio. Fanno delle tappe dalla Nigeria
a Repubblica di Niger , chad , Libia e finalmente a tripoli dove avviene l’imbarco verso,
Lampedusa, sicilia o Malta. Non fanno questi percorsi da soli venivano o vengono accompagnate
dai accompagnatori. Sia i sponsors che le madam affrontano le intero spese del viaggio.
IN CHE MODO POSSIAMO PREVENIRE QUESTA SCHIAVITU? Si dice che e’ meglio
prevenire che curare
Anche io nel mio piccolo chiedo in che modo si puo’ prevenire quando una famiglia disperata
senza futuro esercita una pressione sul un minore di 14 anni abbandonata sul se stessa sulla
marciapiede e vedendo la come l’unica salvatrice della famiglia.
Parlando in qualita’ di mediatore vedo la necessita’ per la prevenzione ma non sara’ molto facile il
percorso da percorere. I sfruttatori sono molti intelligenti, sono in grado di trovare sempre le vie
delle uscite per poter ingannare non solo le forze dell’ordine ma anche le vittime di tratta.
La prevenzione e’ possibile ma ci vorra’ tanto tempo per combattere ed eradicare la tratta affinche
esistessero le famiglie disagiate che non hanno alternative sul come migliorare la loro vita al livello
economico.
Nella prevenzione bisogna adoperare questi tre elementi;1.Comunicazione, divulgazione
ma dare Informazione e' fondamentale poi portare Campagne di sensibilizzazione verso le famiglie
sia quelle disagiate che benestante non soltanto in Edo state ma in tutta la Nigeria.
2. Nelle scuole elementari, medie e superiori. Nel nostro contesto modello culturale, gli insegnanti
godono un ruolo molto importante, una figura autorevole. Nel educare i ragazzi, troverrano un
’approccio metodologico per creare dei laboratori presentando una serie di modelli di laboratori
volti a prevenire il fenomeno nella tratta, proiettando i filmati che riguardano le vittime di tratta che
risiedono in Italia, le torture, percosse, maltrattamenti che subiscono, con il target beneficiario gli
studenti e minori. Questa attivita’ avra’ un’importante valenza.
3. Diffusione degli opuscoli che riporta una fotografia sofferente di una ragazza residente nella
zona CASILINA nelle varie chiese che ormai sono diventati luoghi di aggregamenti,
referenze e di incontro per noi.
4. Potenziare le misure legislative. Che le leggi vanno rispettate, ponendo particolare
attenzione alle ragazze minori a rischio.
° The Role of Civil Society and Local Group Leaders in Preventing and Combating Human
Trafficking - Comments from the Floor: Tampep Association
For several years now, Tampep Association has dedicated its efforts to the issue of the
increasing number of irregular migrants deported from Italy, compounded by the
stigmatization of a failed migration and forced return, underlining the risk of expelled
migrants run by becoming easy targets in the spiral of THB and illegal migration. Due to
the massive presence of nigerian women in the area of competence of the association,
particular attention was dedicated to the programs to be implemented in this conutry.
A multiple factors underlie the plight of women in the developing world. Systematic
gender discrimination is one of those factors that generates negative consequences in the
lives of women. This is the case in Benin City where women have little or no hereditary
rights. They often fnd themselves bereft of the little they possess when they loose their
husbands. They are driven out of the deceased husband’s house and the farm is taken
away by his close relatives.
Clearly, a woman left with two or more kids will have to fend for herself and for her
children’s survival. In most cases she will end up doing petty trading in the city or tend a
small piece of land in a village.
Traffckers who promise a better life in Europe easily lure young girls who believe it is the
only way to help their mothers.
Polygamy is one of the other issues for which married women pay a heavy toll. In families
where there are several wives and many children, it is quite obvious that a jobless or
poorly paid father will not be able to guarantee education to all the children. In most cases,
mothers are left to take care of their children’s upbringing and education. The main
activity is petty trading at the market or keeping a small stall in front of the house, which
eventually requires the withdrawal of children, especially girls from school in order to
help with the trade.
Between 2003 and 2005, Tampep Association implemented a project called ALNIMA
(partners: SRF, COOPI, CeSPI), whose goal was to break the cycle of illegal migration especially traffcking - and deportation of migrants coming from Albania, Nigeria and
Morocco, by assisting migrants detained in prisons and in temporary detention centers
in Turin and its Province.
One of the actions implemented by this project was to deter irregular immigration
through increased awareness in the countries of origin. Actions for the social integration
of the benefciaries meant to improve, sustain the skills and professional capacities of
the benefciaries, facilitate autonomous job placements in their country of origin, create
a micro-credit system that provided potential entrepreneurs with the capital they
needed to start and develop their businesses, were developed.
The ALNIMA project provided eligible Moroccan and Albanian detainees with special
vocational training during their detention in Italy. Vocational training for Nigerian
women occurred exclusively in Nigeria in computer and secretarial studies, hair
dressing and cosmetology, catering and hotel management, tailoring and fashion
design. Women who had learnt the skills necessary to launch a microenterprise were
offered capacity-building training that offered basic fnancial management skills.
At the end of the training course, benefciaries were eligible to participate in a microcredit program to support their new enterprises.
In 2006, the experience acquired through the Alnima project was put to good use with the
project TURNAROUND: this project addressed specifc problems faced by undocumented
Nigerian women living on the territory of the EU partner countries (Italy, The
Netherlands, Greece) both when they were repatriated by force and when they voluntarily
chose to return in Nigeria. These women were very often victims of traffcking, mostly for
the purpose of sexual exploitation. In order to create sustainable processes of repatriation,
the project focused on problems faced by the women both in the European countries,
where they arrived following their migration pathway, and on diffculties they faced when
they taken back to their home country. Through the implementation of the project the
partner organizations identifed common problems faced by Nigerian women in Europe
once repatriated, and by professionals, social workers, Temporary Detention Center
offcials and Embassy offcials who worked with them. Common problems were also
identifed for women upon their return in Nigeria and for the professionals, NGO offcers,
institutional and governmental actors involved in their reception and reintegration.
This project dealt with different targets of benefciaries: on the one hand, the direct
benefciaries (Nigerian repatriated women) who were supported in order to guarantee
them a respectful treatment and a perspective of reintegration into the Nigerian society, on
the other hand, the so-called intermediate benefciaries (key actors such as the TDCs and
prisons personnel, Embassies staff, etc.) who were trained in order to guarantee the
acquisition of fundamental capabilities to face the specifc situation of our vulnerable
target.
The Turnaround project revealed the diffculty of talking to young Nigerian women of the
possibility of returning back to their country with support from TAMPEP onlus for their
re-insertion into their community.
Listed fears include:
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
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stigmatisation from family due to “empty-handed” returns (no savings, no houses
built, family still poor);
return to the city where there were no opportunities for them to live and build a
bright future especially as women who have almost no say on their life;
they prefer living in dire situations instead of going back to their country. There are
no jobs, they lack professional training and cannot count on their family for
sustenance.
Virtually, other than falling prey to ruthless traffckers of human beings, they are also
victims of a system that has failed to evolve and offer dignifed living conditions respectful
of their rights as persons and women.
Being aware of the central importance of Benin City in the traffcking chain, in 2006
Tampep Association opened a Nigerian branch offce in this city that is managed by a
peer operator who was assisted in one of the previous projects.
This offce is still operative and networks with the other Nigerian NGOs active in the feld,
even though – due to the lack of adequate funding – some of the activities that were
previously implemented have been suspended (i.e. visits to the families of potential
victims in villages in the surroundings of Benin City, free material distribution, etc.).
Between 2008 and 2010, Tampep Association fnally took part as a partner in the UNICRI
project Preventing and Combating Traffcking of Minors and Young Women from
Nigeria to Italy.
The goal of the project was the creation of conditions that reduced the vulnerability of
women and children to traffcking from Nigeria to Italy through their educational,
economic, social and cultural empowerment, strengthen anti-traffcking capacities of
Nigerian authorities, prevent traffcking by means of raising public awareness among
population and assist victims of traffcking, fostering their successful reintegration in areas
of origin.
In this occasion, a stable network of Nigerian organisations committed to combating the
traffcking of human beings was created, named ENCATIP (Edo State NGO Coalition
Against Traffcking in persons). Training on how to apply for national and international
funding was provided.
With reference to this network, it should be noted the diffculty – and sometimes
reluctance – of Nigerian NGOs to overcome their individual point of view and acquiring a
network approach.
Despite the positive feedback from the various projects, their limited time-frame and the
consequent fragmentation of the actions carried out on the territory represented a serious
limit of these projects.
Moreover, the time limits imposed by the projects have often prevented adequate
monitoring of the various actions taken during their implementation.
° The Role of Civil Society and Local Group Leaders in Preventing and Combating Human
Trafficking - Comments and Reflections from the Floor: Dorota Gierycz, Webster University,
Vienna
Reflections
The Italian-Nigerian project focused on the city of Benin as the source of trafficking in women for
prostitution, constitutes an interesting case of applied research. What distinct this case from a
typical “development assistance” project is the bottom-up approach, close monitoring of its various
stages of implementation, including budgets, relatively low costs, and measurable outcomes (135
“liberated” women who recovered and settled down).
Encouraged by the discussion in Rome, I would like to share some reflections on the project. These
reflections are also rooted in my West African experiences as the Head of the Human Rights Office
at the UN Mission in Liberia and the Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights (2004-2007). In this capacity I dealt with numerous human rights violations, including THB.
My thoughts go in two directions. Some are directly related to the project, while others go beyond
its scope and address some issues, which in my view are critically important for the prevention and
combating of THB in the West African context and that would require, at least a thorough research.
1. Project related queries:
 What is the reason for Benin City being the source of THB for women’s prostitution in
Nigeria and beyond? What are the city’s specific characteristics and circumstances? Their
identification and analysis may allow drawing attention to other cities with similar features.
 What is the sustainability of the project after 10 years? How independent, self-reliant and
well integrated in the community are 135 women? Can they manage on their own? Can they
act as role-models, mentors, or supporters to other women and lead the project in the future?
 Who are the clients, individuals and organizations in other parts of the country and abroad,
at the receiving end? Can we start mapping-out modern “slavery routs” beginning in Benin
City?

Other queries:
 What, if any, is the interdependency between THB and “ritual killings”? In some
West African countries “ritual killing” is a broadly spread practice sometimes
increasing in the periods of political struggle, elections or turmoil. Its objective is
to ensure “blessing and prosperity” through sacrificing the “innocent” – mainly a
child or a young person (who could be trafficked for this purpose).
 The impact of traditional practices (legal and illegal) could be also examined.
These practices constitute bases of parallel legal systems governing most of West
African societies. The concept of TBH is not reflected in these systems, but the
phenomenon of treating individuals like commodities is very much an issue. It
creates a more conducive climate for THB, it culturally facilitates it. Moreover,
as most of the country (about 70-80 per cent) is under the customary law, the role
of official law enforcement representatives in these areas is rather limited. Thus,
the efforts to combat THB should go beyond the statutory law and its
enforcement mechanisms and reach out to the customary structures. That,
however, would require their better understanding, more realistic mapping-out
the problems and building broader alliances.
 It could be advisable to make a comprehensive study on orphanages and adoption
agencies in a given West African country. It is known that they often serve as
sources for THB (in children) and places of child abuse. Their legal status is
vague, monitoring non-existent and financial gains often high. Such a study
would provide a valuable inside into working of such institutions; enable
elaboration of the minimum standards required and closure of those involved in
THB
° Respones from Politics: Looking Back – Looking Forward: Rosa Villecco Calipari, Vice
Presidente Gruppo Parlamentare PD, Co-Host
Prevenire e Combattere ogni forma di Tratta di Esseri Umani
A nome del Gruppo del Partito Democratico ringrazio voi tutti per essere qui oggi e non vi
nascondo la mia personale soddisfazione per vedervi così numerosi in questa sala.. Per il Partito
Democratico questo è un tema sul quale bisogna lavorare molto, perché molto c’è da fare.
Ringrazio, quindi, Livia Turco per avermi coinvolto nell’organizzazione di questo importante
convegno, che rappresenta l’enorme attenzione che Livia come donna, deputata e soprattutto
Ministra ha negli anni dimostrato tenacemente di avere. Ma non solo, io spero anche, che possa dare
quella scossa necessaria affinché il Parlamento torni ad affrontare con la massima serietà e rigore
questa triste quanto mai profonda piaga del nostro tempo. Ringrazio anche gli altri organizzatori di
questo importante convegno il consorzio Parsec, il Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali dell’Università
la Sapienza di Roma, l’Organizzazione Internazione Migrazione (OIM), il Federal Ministery of
labor, social affairs and consumer protection (Bsmac), il Bundeskanzleramt Osterreich ed infine l’
Osterreichisches Institut für Internationale Politik (oiip).
La tratta degli esseri umani rappresenta ancora oggi una delle più ingiuste e drammatiche violazioni
dei diritti fondamentali dell’uomo. Che si tratti di sfruttamento sessuale, per motivi di lavoro, o
qualsiasi altra forma, costituisce sicuramente uno dei crimini più odiosi e atroci che si possano
perpetuare
Lo sapete meglio di me, ed io di certo non voglio nascondermi dietro un dito. La questione della
tratta è una questione molto complessa, un argomento scomodo e spigoloso. Un argomento che ci
mette davanti all’evidenza delle distorsioni delle nostre democrazie, e in particolare della nostra.
Democrazia che fa fatica ad ammettere e quindi a contrastare quello che avviene nei vicoli un po’
più nascosti delle proprie città o nelle migliaia di campi durante la raccolta dei pomodori, per fare
un esempio. Un paese nel quale ci sono moltissimi elementi che ne favoriscono le condizioni.
Criminalità organizzata, lavoro nero, evasione fiscale dilagante, basso allarme sociale e mediatico,
vuoti legislativi, scarsità e sperpero di finanziamenti, ecc, sono tutti elementi che non determinano
ma che senza dubbio possono favorire la tratta e l’enorme, gigantesco mercato che da essa ne
deriva.
La questione della tratta delle donne nigeriane è la chiara dimostrazione di quanto affermo. Parlare
oggi di queste donne ci mette davanti all’evidenza di quanto sia complicato e difficile intervenire
per la loro “liberazione”. Ho letto attentamente il documento, sulla “Tratta delle donne minorenni
nigeriane in Italia” ed i numeri che riportate mi hanno colpito moltissimo. Stiamo parlando non solo
di una crescita di un fenomeno drammatico, ma di quasi 25.000 donne di cui 2500 minorenni che
nell’arco di un quasi un decennio sono state sfruttate sessualmente nel nostro paese.
Come verrà successivamente trattato del Professor Francesco Carchedi, la questione delle donne
nigeriane è molto più complessa di quanto si possa immaginare. Complessa perché vi sono elementi
come quelli legati al woodoo, alla paura per le sorti della famiglia in Nigeria e alla stessa
organizzazione criminale, che si sommano alla molteplicità di reati che queste donne subiscono.
Reati tra i quali l’immigrazione clandestina, l’induzione e lo sfruttamento alla prostituzione,
violenza fisica, sessuale e psicologica, la riduzione in schiavitù.
Prevenire, contrastare e recuperare queste donne necessità quindi di uno sforzo molto intenso che
non solo esige un impianto normativo certo e solido, ma anche l’adozione di politiche concrete,
decise sulla base di analisi e studi, che siano in grado nel tempo di ottenere dei risultati effettivi.
Risultati che per essere ottenuti inevitabilmente devono tenere conto del coordinamento di tutti gli
attori che ne prendono parte. Le istituzioni, i servizi sociali e la società civile veri punti nevralgici,
ma anche le forze dell’ordine il cui compito non può essere, come alcuni sostengono, di esclusiva
attività repressiva. La storia recente poi ci insegna che tutto questo sarebbe inutile se non si
accompagna anche la cooperazione internazionale in questo con la Nigeria.
Credo che a queste parole sarebbe difficile dissentire, almeno formalmente. Perché nella pratica non
possiamo certamente affermare che non vi siano numerosi e diffusi elementi problematici. Se bene
ricordate nel 1998, il nostro paese poteva vantare dinanzi a tutta Europa l’approvazione di una legge
sull’immigrazione decisamente innovativa, la cosiddetta Turco Napolitano. Ebbene per quanto
riguarda la tratta, l’articolo 18 del derivante Testo Unico istituiva la possibilità alla donna immigrata
vittima di tratta di poter accedere alla “protezione sociale” e quindi a percorsi di reinserimento
sociale e cosa molto importante potevano ottenere un permesso di soggiorno per motivi umanitari.
Una norma importantissima perché non solo riconosceva nel nostro ordinamento la tratta, ma dava
delle garanzie vere alle vittime. Secondo il rapporto CEDAW 2011 quest’articolo ha permesso di
salvare 15.000 persone, soprattutto donne adulte e minorenni.
Sebbene questa legge sia ancora, di fatto, in pieno vigore negli anni, ne è stata fortemente indebolita
la potenzialità. In primo luogo da successive leggi dello Stato come ad esempio quella che istituisce
il reato di clandestinità, oppure la legge Alfano Carfagna sulla prostituzione, orientata fortemente
alla sola repressione e dai risultati più che contestabili o il potere di ordinanza dei Sindaci utilizzato
in certi comuni come vero strumento di repressione discrezionale. Discrezionale al punto da far
diventare i sindaci dei veri e propri sceriffi. Norma per fortuna resa incostituzionale dalla Corte
Costituzionale ma che ha provocato molti danni. A questo vanno poi aggiunte una serie di leggi mai
approvate come quella che istituisce il Piano Nazionale Antitratta o quella riguardante la figura dei
mediatori interculturali.
In secondo luogo sono stati tagliati in misura crescente i finanziamenti ai centri anti tratta, ai centri
antiviolenza, alle organizzazioni anti tratta, alla cooperazione internazionale. Ma non solo è stato
indebolito anche il ruolo delle forze dell’ordine. Forze dell’ordine obbligate ad adottare un
atteggiamento maggiormente predisposto alla repressione e che per via degli ingentissimi tagli
hanno visto ridursi anche i margini di operatività. E questo a danno non solo delle prostitute, ad
oggi meno coinvolte e più diffidenti verso i progetti di tutela, ma anche degli operatori che lavarono
a stretto contatto con esse.
Sebbene vi siano, come ben dimostrato dal Documento sulla tratta, delle realtà sul territorio che
funzionano con particolare successo come a Venezia, a Novara e a Castel Volturno, permane in me
una forte preoccupazione. Noi del Partito Democratico da sempre siamo impegnati contro le
discriminazioni, le violenze ai danni dei più deboli, migranti e no. E’ un nostro dovere. La settimana
scorsa, infatti, siamo riusciti a impegnare il Governo, tramite un ODG, a fare il possibile affinché il
nostro paese ratificasse la Convenzione, promossa dal Consiglio d’Europa, per la prevenzione e la
lotta alla violenza sulle donne. In piccolo faticoso risultato, un piccolo nuovo punto di partenza.
In conclusione spero che la giornata di oggi possa rappresentare un valido contributo ad un
problema troppo spesso ignorato e sottovalutato.
° Respones from Politics: Looking Back – Looking Forward: Michele Palma, Director-General
of the Office of International Affairs and Interventions in the Social Field, Department of Equal
Opportunities – Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Opening Remarks
Depicted as a modern form of slavery which entrap around millions of victims around the world,
Trafficking in Human Beings is one of the top human right concerns on international scale. How it
has been explained by the distinguished speakers who took the floor before me, Italy has been one
of the first countries to recognise the nature and extent of this phenomenon and has initiated
innovative policy approaches and numerous actions at national and EU level.
In fact, since 1998, with the introduction of the aforementioned art. 18 of the Consolidated Act on
Immigration (Legislative Decree 286/98), Italy is at the forefront of the fight against trafficking in
human beings and the protection of victims, both children and adults. The Italian system, which is
still considered a best practise in this field, was built upon the principle that an effective antitrafficking strategy should be based on a victim rights’ centred approach.
Later on a targeted national law on human trafficking followed – Law 228/2003 “Measures against
trafficking in persons” – which acknowledged the definition of trafficking in persons provided by
the Palermo Protocol. This law as well – with its Article 13 - includes a provision for the creation
of an assistance programme for both Italian and foreign victims of slavery, servitude and trafficking
aiming at ‘temporarily guaranteeing adequate accommodation, food and healthcare to the victims’.
A composite structure for the assistance to trafficked persons was then built upon the
aforementioned laws and there is in place at national level, functioning throughout three main tools:
 Programs for temporary assistance (implemented on the basis of the art. 13 of L.
228/2003);
 Programs for long term assistance and social inclusion (implemented on the basis of art.
18 of Legislative Decree 286/98);
 National anti-trafficking Toll-Free Help-line (“system action” foreseen by the Ministerial
Decree of 23 November 1999 – art. 2, regulating the implementation of art. 18 of
Legislative Decree 286/98).
The Department of Equal Opportunities is the national authority in charge of coordinating and
promoting action for the protection of trafficked persons. Such choice of the Italian government is
indicative of the national approach to the issue of trafficking, which considers the protection of the
victims the priority of the national system of intervention.
The fact that the Italian response to human trafficking is focused on the protection of the rights of
the victims, doesn’t mean that few attention is paid to the prosecution of the traffickers. On the
contrary, the national law on trafficking foresees harsh punishment for traffickers and exploiters and
furthermore, experience has shown over approximately twelve years that a victim rights centred
approach and an effective multi-agency coordination allow the victims to feel safe and to cooperate
with the judiciary authorities and the law enforcement officers to conduct useful investigations and
to prosecute the crime’s perpetrators.
Italy remains strongly committed to combat trafficking. Over the last two years - despite the
challenging international juncture and financial crisis which Italy, as many other countries in
Europe, has to cope with and the resulting cutback of public expenditure – the Department of
Equal Opportunities continually highlighted the importance to safeguard the anti-trafficking
intervention tools and the Minister of Equal Opportunities managed to preserve the total budget for
the functioning of the national system for the protection of victims of trafficking and exploitation
for 2011 and 2012. In the meantime, in order to make the national protection system even more
harmonized, efficient and effective, the intervention tools (anti-trafficking toll-free helpline, “art
13” projects, “art. 18” projects) have been restructured and strengthened by using a bottom-up
approach and involving in the process the most relevant actors.
Furthermore, in the perspective of implementing an even more comprehensive national strategy
against THB, the Department of Equal Opportunities – in cooperation with all the national
authorities committed to this issue and all the other relevant public and private actors – started
working at the elaboration of a National Action Plan against trafficking. The technical board for
the elaboration of the national action plan against trafficking was established by the Department of
equal opportunities in 2010 and started working in January 2011. Representatives of the main
Ministers and institutions involved, as well as representatives of the national network of NGOs
working in the field of anti-trafficking (CNCA) participate to the working sessions of the board on
a permanent basis.
The newly appointed Minister recognized as well the strategic importance of the national
protection system for trafficked persons and included in her policy document for 2012 the
finalization of the National Action Plan and the establishment of the National Observatory on
THB. The first draft of the plan is then supposed to be finalized in 2012. The Plan will take in due
consideration the specific needs of trafficked/exploited children, as well as a gender based
approach, as cross-cutting issues to the national strategy to be developed. The National Action
Plan will provide as well for the establishment of a formalized national referral mechanism for
trafficked persons, including minimum standards for protection and standard operating procedure
for the referral of victims to the proper service providers.
The Department of equal opportunities consider also of primary importance making efforts to
prevent trafficking in human beings and it is committed to develop bilateral cooperation with the
main source countries of victims trafficked to Italy, trying to address the root-causes of human
trafficking and exploitation by focussing on sensitization of civil society, training of practitioners,
women empowerment and, more generally, networking among countries of origin and destination.
Data collection and monitoring which the Department has been doing for more than ten years
allow us to be aware of the main trends of the phenomenon and to see how the problem of
Nigerian women trafficked to Italy to be exploited in prostitution is very serious and how the
number of the victims asking for assistance has constantly increased over the last years, amounting
nowadays to the 50% of the victims identified and assisted in Italy, annually.
Nigeria is then the major source country of persons trafficked to Italy and it is prevalent in other
EU countries as well. That is primarily why we agree with and support the idea promoted by the
“Regional Initiative” to join efforts in order to develop a common shared approach to prevention –
focusing on Nigeria - by strengthening transnational cooperation and building upon successful
initiatives implemented so far.
° Respones from Politics: Looking Back – Looking Forward: Bianca Pomeranzi, Senior Gender
Advisor of Italian Development Cooperation
THE ROLE OF ITALIAN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
IN THE IOM PROGRAM
AGAINST TRAFFICKING OF NIGERIAN WOMEN



The problem of trafficking for prostitution in Italy came out in the nineties of last century as
a consequence of gobalization trends and war in former jugoslavia. The different trafficking
dynamics according to countries of origin of the victims and the different trafficking patterns
were at the centre of various activities carried out by the Italian government and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for the initiative of the Minister of Social Affairs
and the Minister for Equal Opportunities. With the passing of the law on immigration in
1998, a legal framework was created for assisting victims of trafficking under Article 18
(Italian Law 40/98). Measures of social protection and general assistance to victims, started
to be provided by the 1998 Article 18 of the law on immigration. The most significant
consequence of Article 18 was to help reintegrate women and girls into society by providing
a comprehensive set of social services to victims of trafficking. A more comprehensive and
structured program of assistance was made available to victims of trafficking, and they are
assisted up to the point of obtaining independent living and social autonomy. The Italian
Social Protection Program against trafficking was successful because it is based on the
reality of women’s lives in prostitution, and the fact that the system of prostitution is a form
of modern slavery. For example, in the Italian model, the collaboration between government
agencies, NGOs, religious institutions, and the police is a good example of the networking
necessary to combat trafficking. The close collaboration between the police and the network
of NGOs offering services to victims was based on a territorial approach. NGOs directly
manage the assistance offered to women and girls in the reintegration process, monitoring
the victims’ progress and social reinsertion. This Italian approach to combat trafficking
started to be one of the best practices to combat prostitution and trafficking, because of the
involvement of local authorities.
When the Italian Development cooperation was asked in 2009 to support the IOM program
against trafficking of Nigerian women and girls to Italy, as senior gender advisor I took in
account the possibility not only to give financial support, but also to contribute to the
initiative drawing on the lessons learned of the Italian approach against trafficking against
women. To this end I proposed to the IOM representative in Nigeria the involvement of two
Italian experts in migration who had already experiences in the management of in-country
initiatives. Migrant trafficking, especially women trafficking, is part of a new area of
development cooperation activities which deals with human rights approaches to combat
gender based violence (GBV) against women. The Italian Development Cooperation Gender
strategy in this field is developing of a multi-level strategy based on the partnership with
international and national institutions and legal framework and a local development and
multi-dimensional approach which consists in supporting local NGOs and institutions to
build a concrete network of complementary integrated primary prevention, protection, and
socio-economic reintegration services.
The project was implemented by IOM in collaboration with the National Agency for the
Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) in the field of
prevention of trafficking and assistance to Victims of Trafficking (VoTs) in Nigeria
(especially Lagos and Edo states). The most common external destination countries for
trafficking in persons from Nigeria currently are: Italy, United Kingdom, France, Belgium,
Netherlands, the Republic of Benin, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Gabon, Niger, Guinea, Togo,
Ghana, and Saudi Arabia. The Italian Development Cooperation asked IOM to create a
network of experts coming from other interested countries, Netherlands and Norway, for
actively participating to the Nigeria project “Counter Trafficking Initiative”, implemented in
Edo and Lagos State. In our view the partnership could contributed positively to the
initiative because the assistance to young women victimized is a transnational problem
which requests constant support both at local and at the international level. The overall
objective of the CTI project was to contribute to the establishment of a referral system for
victims of trafficking. Promoted by the project, integrated approaches in the area of social
protection and prevention started taking shape as a growing number of victims were rescued
(coming back from European or Sub-Saharian and Nord African states), processed through
NAPTIP shelters, and returned to their places of origin. To rationalize service delivery
NAPTIP coordinated the development of a “National Policy on the Protection and
Assistance of Trafficked Persons in Nigeria” and the integrated model obtained a formal
endorsement by the NGO sector and NAPTIP. Universities were involved in the process of
monitoring of the overall process of assistance and in specific research activities, including a
Summer School. Currently Nigeria is developing a holistic counter trafficking response, and
the Italian experts involved in CTI project have noted that the systematic intervention at
local level could provide a “controlled” and extensive environment for the protection of
victims. On this I would like to underline the role of ngos and the huge work of some Italian
religious communities in supporting the victims .To sum-up, anti-trafficking activities, in
order to be successful require the construction of a strong and wide coalition, and a
continuous engagement. Moreover, it deserves attention to promote awareness of trafficking
at the local level and to improve the international cooperation, including transnational
research activities and exchange of competence at the professional levels (training of social
workers), including the local level authorities. Finally, building on what has been done, we
can say that the main lesson we have learned is the support to endemic communities
through community projects for addressing the root causes of human trafficking is envisaged
to be a real measure to dealing with the problem.
° Respones from Politics: Looking Back – Looking Forward: Maria Grazia Giammarinaro,
OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
Summary of Keynote Address: ' Building Societies which do not tolerate Exploitation'
The prevention of trafficking for labour exploitation is one of my key priorities in Office, and the
facilitation of better co-operation in all spheres has proven to be an important strategy in combating
all forms of trafficking in human beings. I have been convinced for a long time of the need to
address labour exploitation on a much larger scale. Co-operation is particularly important - at the
local, national, regional and international levels - but also across relevant agencies and civil society
organizations. .
Towards an Agenda for Prevention of Labour Exploitation
The first key message I want to convey is that people seeking a better job and finding themselves in
a situation of social vulnerability and trafficking - be they irregular/regular migrants or people who
are vulnerable for different reasons such as age or disability or discrimination – should be seen first
and foremost as workers. They would not fall prey so easily to traffickers if they were granted a
decent salary and decent working and life conditions. Irrespective of their migration status, they
should be considered rights holders as workers whose rights must be protected and promoted. This
is the reason why we built upon the ILO Agenda on Decent Work and Social Justice as the main
conceptual framework for the prevention of trafficking for labour exploitation. On this basis, we
identified concrete action to be adopted with a view to promoting the protection of workers’ rights,
such as a wider and stronger role for labour inspectors whose activity should strengthen and
complement the criminal justice response to trafficking.
The second key message is that in light of prevention it is necessary to address not only immediate
factors which cause or facilitate trafficking but a larger spectrum of exploitation, involving
especially migrant workers. To this end, it is necessary to put in place tailored measures to respond
to the different needs of workers, aimed at reducing their vulnerability to trafficking. In this light,
trafficking should be considered as a severe form of exploitation of workers in a position of
vulnerability, by debt bondage or threats or multiple dependency or psychological constraint.
Exploitation is indeed at the core of the notion of human trafficking. A trafficking case could start
with travel across a border – in a regular or irregular situation – facilitated by a smuggler or made in
a situation of complete autonomy. However, there is a trafficking case whenever the person gets
exploited by means of coercion or abuse of a position of vulnerability, regardless of whether the
person had migrated irregularly. If means of coercion or abuse have been used, the person should be
considered as a trafficked person even if there is no connection between the first phase – transfer –
and the second phase – exploitation, or even if the person finds herself/himself in a situation of
vulnerability and is exploited in loco. According to an advanced interpretation of the international
instruments, which is consistent with the spirit of the 2000 Palermo Protocol, trafficking is the
“umbrella” notion comprising all forms of new slavery, including trafficking for labour exploitation
and other forms of new slavery such as trafficking for the removal of organs, for forced begging and
forced criminality, in addition to various forms of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
In this light, the criminal justice response should be more robust and effective in terms of
deterrence, also through the use of financial investigation, freezing, seizure and confiscation of the
proceeds of crime, including in the field of labour exploitation. Simultaneously, it is necessary to
address a wider area of exploitation, and ensure that vulnerable workers are identified before being
subjected to worse forms of exploitation that amount to trafficking.
My last key message on our approach to combating labour exploitation is that we should promote a
language and policy switch: from the notion of victims to the notion of holders of rights. In this
light, many issues should be tackled in a different and more strategic way. For example, outreach
work and drop-in centres should address a broader area of exploitation, and therefore target
workplaces, in sectors and areas known for being prone to exploitation; this implies that tailored
solutions should be found for every worker found in hazardous/exploitative situations, not
necessarily amounting to trafficking, or not easily identifiable as trafficking. Civil and labour law
procedures or mediation with the assistance of trade unions and NGOs could in certain cases be
used as a more appropriate means to achieve the payment of salaries and/or compensation. Tailored
solutions should be found for unaccompanied/trafficked children put in detention facilities, and for
older children – children close to adulthood - disappearing from facilities and subsequently found in
situations of hazardous work also related to trafficking. Assistance and social inclusion measures
for people trafficked for labour exploitation should always aim to identify sustainable solutions in
terms of employment. Therefore the payment of wages and compensation play a pivotal role, giving
the workers concerned the basic means to rebuild their labour/migration project. The most difficult
problem, however, is still the irregular status that in many countries hampers, de jure or de facto,
workers’ access to justice and remedies.
In the case of domestic servitude the need for tailored assistance measures is even more
pronounced. A high standard of assistance and support measures – including accommodation,
medical and psychological assistance - should be ensured to trafficked persons who are traumatized
and/or bear serious health consequences of exploitation, sometimes comparable to torture – even in
cases in which, for whatever reason, there is no legal recognition of the case as being a trafficking
case.
Conclusion
Trafficking is no longer a marginal phenomenon, limited to sexual exploitation or to victims of a
certain profile. Moreover, trafficking is more and more linked with economic trends, especially in
certain economic sectors such as agriculture, construction and domestic work, where exploitation of
migrant workers is becoming endemic. Therefore trafficking tends to become a crucial social and
political problem, although it is not yet recognized as such. For this reason, to prevent and fight
against trafficking means to build a society which does not tolerate exploitation, and is inspired by
the idea of social justice. Every government or social actor, every private individual has a role to
play in this struggle.
° Development of Joint Mutually Beneficial Partnerships with Third Countries :
Ways Forward (in the framework of the Italian-Nigerian Project) - Next (possible) Steps (in the
framework of the Regional Implementation Initiative)
° Phase II of the (EC/EU funded) project on 'Counter Trafficking Initiative: Analysis of the
Evolution of Trafficking in Persons, Grass Root Social Intervention, Building Social Services
and Referral Networking Capacity, and Promoting Direct Assistance'.
The Project Phase II (with IOM – International Organization for Migration Nigeria as lead
organization in cooperation with PARSEC Consortium, the Italian Cooperation of the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs and supported by the Netherlands and Norway) will focus on integrated
approaches in the area of social protection and prevention and further develop and spur integrated
cooperation models between government agencies (NAPTIP), the private sector, NGOs, the civil
society sector, Universities, the National Human Rights Commission (NHCR) and donors in
defining and implementing the national referral strategy, including referral of public and specialized
(HIV/AIDS) health institutions.
Moreover, the Project Phase II, which – on the one hand - aims at promoting awareness of human
trafficking and capacity building at the local level and – on the other hand – at improving
international cooperation, including transnational research activities and exchange of competences
at the professional levels, will expand the initial focus on two Nigerian states (Lagos and Edo/Benin
City) to other Nigerian states, where human trafficking has been emerging in recent months/years.
° Promotion of the establishment of a Special Office within the DG of the European Commission
in Brussels specializing in interventions against all forms of human trafficking in Central-western
Africa, thus coordinating all EU member States anti-trafficking interventions with regard to
Nigeria (and other African countries) and managing – in cooperation with the existing EUDelegation in Abujia - a 'fund for anti-trafficking matters' (sponsored by EU member States, the EC
and other donors and supervised by a 'steering committee' composed of selected representatives
and experts of the EU and Nigeria) in order to enhance common/joint activities and approaches in
preventing and combating human trafficking in/from Nigeria, to build-on tested and recognized
'good practices', and to avoid needless duplications by liaising with relevant IOs and NGOs, and
supporting their field work.
° Invitation of selected representatives of the participating States of the 'Regional Implementation
Initiative' (representatives from Ministries, NGOs and IOs, law enforcement officers, researchers
from universities and research institutes, practitioners) to join the multidisciplinary team of
experts, social workers and researchers at their regular working sessions in Nigeria (max 2 persons
per session) in order to get insight into the situation on the spot as well as into the working
conditions and methods of the team.
° Fact finding mission/joint trip to Nigeria ( 8-10 days) of representatives of the participating
States of the Regional Implementation Initiative aimed at getting in-depth practical information
about the (anti-)trafficking situation in endemic areas of the country; to check what has been
achieved so far in the framework of the Italian-Nigerian cooperation, and to discuss with
stakeholders, local representatives and authorities (IOs, NGOs, local/community leaders,
Universities) on the spot, what works under which conditions and which problems need to be
addressed – and thus to understand how to build-on the project and join-in with a view to further
develop and implement mutually beneficial partnerships between Europe and Nigeria.
° Establishment of a 'Research Network on Human Trafficking' of experts, researchers and
stakeholders from IOs, NGOs, universities and research institutes - with the institutionalized
cooperation between the University of Rome/Sapienza and the University of Benin as one of the
partners – aimed at fostering the academic discussion and providing qualitative research and
independent, reliable evidence on factors contributing to and/or determining human trafficking by
addressing the conditions that make persons vulnerable to it - such as labor and migration laws and
policies; programmes for (re-)integration of former victims; the equal rights protection for women,
migrants and other marginalized populations; the provision of labor rights, the structural and
cultural factors that facilitate and spur human trafficking, etc.